October 5, 1934 - January 6, 2019
“I am honored to take a moment to tell you about the life of our incredible Mother. It is a life that is lovingly remembered.”
Bobbie Jane Reeder was born in Kentucky October 5, 1934. Had wonderful parents Obie and Ruby Reeder. A couple years later she had a sister Billie Marie.
She got married to George Eastham in 1955 and had 3 children, Debra Terry Eastham, Cynthia Ann Eastham and Joseph Paul Eastham. George and Bobbie divorced, and she married Arlan Witham. In 1964 they had one child, Christine Ann Witham. The whole family moved to California. Lived in Santa Rosa for a bit and then moved to Lodi California. Her and Arlan later divorced.
I remember that my mother always worked hard, was dedicated to anything she did. She worked as a Secretary for many years but found a factory job at the PCP can plant which she just totally loved and continued there until she retired in 2001. Mom was a task master. She taught us at a young age responsibility, accountability, to respect ourselves and others. She was also a pet lover, we had cats and dogs to love and take care of all our lives. She was always a very thoughtful person teaching us this also.
Mom always told us wonderful stories of her young life, planting gardens (which she also taught us), learning to drive with her Dad, the fun she had in high school, going to Coney Island, going to dances, the list goes on.
She also went through some very trying times in her life. The passing of her Father in 1964, her son Paul in 1976, her daughter Christine in 1986, Mother Ruby in 1994, sister Billie in 1998. She persevered and just kept going. She was a strong woman and that taught us to be strong.
In 2002 Mom was diagnosed with dementia and then just a few years later the dreaded diagnoses of Alzheimer’s. As she slipped away slowly to a place we didn’t know, we could tell that 99% of the time she was in a happy place. She would still sing, whistle and talk even though we didn’t understand her words. It didn’t matter to us, as long as she was happy, and we could still see her smiling face.
Today we no longer see that smile…..
If you would like to honor our Mom, Bobbie Jane Witham please contribute in her name to
http://act.alz.org/site/TR/Walk2019/CA-NorthernCaliforniaandNorthernNevada?pg=entry&fr_id=12095
https://www.hospicesj.org/contribute
Please leave your condolences below.
Cherokee Memorial is honored to serve the Witham family.
